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What 109 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Chevrolet Cruze Limited

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (109)Crash / fire / injury (19)Engine (27)Transmission & drivetrain (23)Electrical system (14)Brakes (13)Steering (9)Airbags (8)Fuel system (7)Lights (5)Speed control (5)Wheels (5)

5 of 109 complaints match · Speed control · clear filters

Mar 14, 2024Transmission & drivetrainSpeed control

Shortly after I merge onto a highway and pickup speed my cruze apears to be slipping gears. It does not do it every time but it appears to be happening increasingly often. It starts to shake violently, becomes hard to stear and refuses to excelerate even though the rpm's are rising significantly higher then they should be, leaving me going 35 - 40mph on a 65mph highway, it does not fully decelerate either. It happened the other day and the road speed was 65mph to start which my car wouldn't do then immediately became congested which is when I realized it wouldn't properly decelerate either, at least before I thought I coupd just pull over if it lasted to long. My car only has 22,000 miles on it and was certified pre-owned. It is regularly maintenanced as well. I have not taken it to be inspected just yet but that is my next step as I don't feel at all safe driving it in this condition.

NHTSA ODI 11577291

Jul 13, 2022Speed control

The Auto Start and Stop feature has malfunctioned multiple times. Safety was put at risk due to car stalling at multiple red lights and shutting off while driving down the road. Problem has been reproduced by dealership. No warnings at all prior to the failure.

NHTSA ODI 11473711

Jun 7, 2020SteeringSpeed control

WHEN EITHER ACCELERATING FROM A STOP OR WHILE ACTIVELY TRAVELING AT SPEED THE VEHICLE WILL DROP SPEED AND SHAKE TO THE POINT THAT YOU BELIEVE YOU MAY LOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND/OR YOU MAY GET REAR-ENDED OR HIT BY ANOTHER VEHICLE. IT HAS HAPPENED WHILE TURNING FROM A STOPPED POSITION ONTO THE MAIN ROAD AND I WAS ALMOST KILLED BY BEING STRUCK BY A VEHICLE WHEN THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. THE SECOND MAJOR INCIDENT WAS WHEN I WAS TRAVELING AT 70 MPH ON THE EXPRESSWAY, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY DECELERATED, THE STEERING WHEEL BEGAN SHAKING AND THE CAR WAS ALMOST UNABLE TO BE CONTROLLED. THE FREEWAY INCIDENT TOOK PLACE 6/6/2020

NHTSA ODI 11327631

Mar 9, 2020Speed control

THIS ISSUE APPLIES TO WHEN THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION. THE BRAKE PEDAL HEIGHT IS SET TOO HIGH OFF THE FLOOR COMPARED TO THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. WHEN DRIVING A CAR YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO COMFORTABLY PIVOT BETWEEN GAS AND BRAKE PEDALS WHILE KEEPING YOUR HEEL ON THE FLOOR. WITH THE BRAKE PEDAL SET SO HIGH ON THIS CAR, I HAVE TO COMPLETELY TAKE MY FOOT OFF THE FLOOR AND MOVE MY WHOLE FOOT OVER TO APPLY THE BRAKE WHEN SWITCHING FROM THE ACCELERATOR TO THE BRAKE PEDAL. ALSO, BECAUSE OF THE PEDAL HEIGHT, MY FOOT GETS CAUGHT ON THE PEDAL CAUSING A DELAY IN APPLYING THE BRAKE. ALSO HAPPENS WHEN GOING FROM THE BRAKE PEDAL TO THE GAS PEDAL- THE FOOT CATCHES THE EDGE OF THE BRAKE PEDAL AND UNINTENTIONALLY APPLIES THE BRAKE WHEN TRYING TO APPLY THE GAS. THE CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP STATED THE BRAKE PEDAL HEIGHT CANNOT BE ADJUSTED. I BELIEVE THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND NEEDS TO HE ADDRESSED.

NHTSA ODI 11317018

Jan 24, 2020Speed controlElectronic Stability Control (esc)Engine

I BACKED OUT OF MY ICY DRIVEWAY AND ONTO THE CLEAR, DRY ROAD. SET MY CRUISE CONTROL TO 48MPH AND AFTER ABOUT 30 SECONDS, MY TRACTION CONTROL AND SERVICE ENGINE LIGHTS CAME ON WITH AN ERROR MESSAGE THAT SAID "SERVICE STABILITRAK" AND MY CRUISE CONTROL TURNED OFF. I CLOSED THE STABILITRAK MESSAGE, THE TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT TURNED OFF AFTER ABOUT 30 SECONDS, AND THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT TURNED OFF SHORTLY AFTER. BUT MY CRUISE CONTROL STILL WONT ENGAGE. I'VE TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF AND ON AND IT STILL ISNT WORKING. IT SEEMS THAT A LOT OF DIFFERENT GM VEHICLES HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM, AND THE DEALERSHIP HAS FIXED IT IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT WAYS. I READ ON A FORUM THAT SOMEONE HAD THE ISSUE AND THE GM DEALERSHIP SAID THERE WAS AN ISSUE WITH THE AMOUNT OF ETHANOL IN THE GASOLINE. I HAPPENED TO HAVE FILLED UP MY TANK THE NIGHT BEFORE WITH REGULAR UNLEADED FROM MY LOCAL SPEEDWAY. NOT SURE OF THAT COULD HAVE BEEN CONNECTED.

NHTSA ODI 11301537

Working with the data? Download all 109 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 26, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2018 Chevrolet Cruze Limited verdict →